


Sacrilege

by Randomtrashgirl



Category: Naruto
Genre: Blood, Demons, Friendship/Love, Gen, Kidnapping, M/M, More later - Freeform, Possession, Protection, Spiritual
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-26
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-05-23 07:44:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6109854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Randomtrashgirl/pseuds/Randomtrashgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Naruto had been kidnapped when he was just eight-years-old. He returned with a strange mark tattooed on his stomach, and no memory of where he had been for the last two months. On the brink of sixteen, he feels like he can finally reclaim his normal life with his best friend (and maybe boyfriend) Sasuke Uchiha. Only, lately he has been having more blackouts and he can't help but feel like somebody is watching him. This is only the beginning.</p>
<p>Demonic possession.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The beginning

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea for a while now. Please forgive any mistakes. I was anxious to post this. I actually had more planned for this chapter but it was getting too long, and it's quite late now. Please enjoy and let me know what you think!

Naruto tried to catch Sasuke’s eye from across the class. The other boy was either oblivious to his best friend’s desperate stare or was purposefully ignoring him. Judging from the boy’s behaviour the past couple of weeks, Naruto would guess it was the latter. Sasuke had been acting distant lately. He stopped sitting with Naruto at lunch and wouldn’t return his phone calls after school. Even when Naruto showed up unannounced at Sasuke’s house, the dark-haired boy would say he was too busy doing homework or wasn’t allowed to go play.

Naruto knew it was because Sasuke was trying to act like his older brother, but it still bothered him. Naruto didn’t have many other friends, like Sasuke did. Most people found him too intense to spend extended periods of time with. He couldn’t just go and hang with the older kids, like Sasuke was doing. In fact, Naruto would bet his favourite Pokémon card that that was the reason why Sasuke was avoiding him lately. Naruto was only 8-years-old and wasn’t above acting like it. He was hyper and loud and still liked to play ninjas. He wasn’t what somebody might call ‘mature for his age’.

For some reason, though, the other boys thought Sasuke was mature enough. They said Sasuke could play with them at recess and sit with them at lunch. The only catch was that he could not invite Naruto. They were 12-years-old, and they weren’t just going to play with babies, which Naruto obviously still was. Naruto knew the truth, though. For as ‘mature’ as Sasuke pretended to be, he was still only 8. He wasn’t loud and hyper like Naruto was, but he still liked playing ninjas when nobody else was around!

So Sasuke was ignoring him.

However, today was different. He had finally cornered Sasuke and made him promise to come frog hunting after school today. Even though it made Naruto sad that Sasuke was avoiding him, Sasuke was his best friend. Naruto missed him, and he was starting to get really lonely. He didn’t want to tell his parents that Sasuke was acting like a jerk. They had the tendency to be a bit over-protective. So every time his dad suggested he stop moping around the house and go play with Sasuke, he would go to the park by himself for a few hours.

The last bell rang, interrupting Iruka’s finishing thought. The entire class jumped to their feet, ignoring their teacher’s protests, and began to pack their bags. Naruto was the fastest. He was the first one out of the classroom! He cheered for himself, running a small victory circle in front of the door. Lots of people bumped him and grumbled but he ignored them.

Sasuke was the last student out of the room. He strolled out like he had all the time in the world, with his backpack slung over one shoulder. Naruto scowled.

“Come on, jerk!” Naruto shouted, reaching out to snag his friend’s wrist. “Why are you always so slow!?”

He dragged Sasuke down the hall, acting more irritated than he actually was. He was so happy to be spending time with his friend again that he wasn’t going to let anything ruin it. Despite himself, Sasuke smiled at his blonde friend’s back. Even though he really liked hanging out with his new friends, he wished Naruto was there too.

“There is a really, really fat frog there, now! I swear, and he was purple! I gotta show you!” Naruto announced, pulling Sasuke through the entrance doors.

“Stop pulling me,” Sasuke grumbled, “I’m coming, aren’t I?” He made no move to take his hand back, though.

Naruto grinned. He was about to announce that he would drag Sasuke everywhere from now on if he had to, when another voice interrupted him.

“Oi, Sasuke!”

“Oh great,” Naruto muttered darkly. One of Sasuke’s new friends, Suigetsu, was approaching them from down the hill. The others trailed behind him. Sasuke jerked his arm out of Naruto’s grip and stepped away from the blonde. Naruto shot him a wounded look, but he tried to ignore it.

“What are you doing right now?” Sui asked once he stopped in front of the pair. “We’re going to check out that new movie, Karin’s treat.” He pointed his thumb to the grinning, red-headed girl behind him. Karin waved, smiling at Sasuke. “Wanna come?”

“Oh!” Naruto gasped, clutching the straps of his red backpack. “Do you mean Ninja’s League 2?” he asked excitedly.

“Uh yeah, but actually Karin only has enough for Sasuke to come too, so…” Sui trailed off. “Sorry,” he added insincerely.

“Oh, right,” Naruto huffed, “but anyway, actually Sasuke and I have plans!”

“What sort of plans?” Juugo, a tall orange-headed boy, pried. The others snickered. Sasuke got a sinking feeling in his stomach. He knew the other kids had fun winding Naruto up. The blonde was just way too excitable. Sasuke hated these confrontations. Naruto was his best friend, so he didn’t like to see his new friends make fun of him. Especially because Naruto didn’t really understand that they were mocking him most of the time.

“We’re going to—“Naruto started. Sasuke elbowed him to stop him.

“Naruto…. Maybe we should do that a different time. Tomorrow,” he hedged.

“But, Sasuke!” Naruto whined, “You promised!”

“Aw, the baby’s going to cry!” Sui stage whispered to Karin. The others snickered again.

Naruto flushed red, his shoulders hunched. “I am not!”

“He’s already crying…” Juugo pointed out.

“I like that he wears both straps on his backpack,” Karin pointed out. The others each had theirs on only one shoulder. Sui snorted, bursting into laughter.

“Naruto…” Sasuke pleaded, “Please…”

“Fine!” Naruto snapped. He turned on his heel and stomped away. He really was going to cry now, and he did not want the other boys to see. They would never stop laughing at him. He gripped the straps to his backpack and resisted the urge to run.

“I’ll call you later,” Sasuke called to his retreating back.

“Don’t bother!”

_____

Naruto threw his backpack to the muddy grass surrounding the pond. This used to be his and Sasuke’s favourite place to play. There were so many frogs and bugs, and it was surrounded by a circle of trees so it was also private. This is where they would come to play ninjas and have mud fights. Whenever something bothered them, they would sit under the biggest tree and talk. Naruto glared at that tree now, refusing to cry. Now that something was really bothering him, Sasuke wasn’t there to talk to. In fact, it was all Sasuke’s fault that Naruto was so upset.

“Stupid Sasuke!” Naruto shouted! The croaking and surrounding ambiance silenced abruptly.

He huffed, trudging to the edge of the pond. He had probably just scared all the frogs away. Still, he kneeled at the edge and peered into the water. He tried to focus on finding the fat purple frog and not on his stupid best friend. It worked for a while. He made his way around the pond slowly, throwing sticks into the water and looking through the weeds for hidden amphibians.

“What are you doing?” A silky voice startled him. He whipped around, his heart pounding. A tall man stood a few feet away from him, smiling kindly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you!” he laughed.

Naruto slowly got to his feet.

“What’s your name?” the man asked, stepping forward.

“Uh, it’s Naruto…” he mumbled. This guy was making him nervous. In all the times he and Sasuke had played here, they had never run into somebody else. And this was stranger was an adult. He was probably going to start yelling at Naruto for being here.

“It’s nice to meet you, Naruto.” The man’s smile grew. “My name is Orochimaru.” He approached the blonde boy and held out his hand. When the child didn’t reach back, Orochimaru simply grabbed the boy’s hand and shook it twice.

“Hi…” Naruto quickly withdrew his arm as soon as the man released it.

If he noticed the boy’s nerves at all, he made no show of it. Orochimaru peered into the murky pond water. “What were you doing, Naruto?”

“Oh, uh… I’m looking for frogs.” Naruto followed the older man’s gaze to the water’s surface.

“Frogs!” the man laughed, as if the prospect of finding frogs in a pond was an absurd and amusingly childish prospect.

“Er, yeah…”

“Well, if you’re interested…” Orochimaru started. Naruto looked up curiously. The man was staring directly at him now, still smiling. Inexplicably, his heart started to pound. He was getting a really bad feeling from this guy. “I happen to know where you can find some really big frogs…”

“Uh, no thanks.” Naruto shrugged, “I should go home now.” He began to walk back towards his backpack, holding his breath as he passed the other.

“That’s too bad,” Orochimaru sighed, “They were very cool frogs. Are you sure you don’t want to see?”

Naruto hesitated. On one hand, this guy was kind of creepy and his mom would yell at him if she knew he was talking to a strange man. On the other hand, if this guy really did know where some awesome frogs were, Naruto could brag to Sasuke about finding them. That would make Sasuke jealous and want to come with him next time, not ditch him for some stuck up older kids!

“Well…” He picked up his backpack, thought about it for a minute, and then moved it to the base of his and Sasuke’s tree. He turned back to Orochimaru and grinned. “Maybe I could stay for a little longer…”

“Excellent,” Orochimaru’s smile grew tenfold.

___

“Hello?” Kushina held the phone against her ear with her shoulder, scrubbing furiously at the stubborn ink stains on the wall. She was going to kill Naruto when he got home. The boy was 8-years-old, for crying out loud, he should know better than to paint on the walls by now!

“Is Naruto home?” an almost timid voice asked from the other line. Kushina slowly stopped scrubbing.

“Sasuke?” She asked, “No, he hasn’t come home yet. I thought he was with you, actually.”

“Oh…” he sounded morose.

Kushina stifled a smile. These boys were just too cute, always depressed without the other. “I’ll have him call you as soon as he gets in” She promised.

“Alright… Thanks. Bye.”

“Goodbye, Sasuke.” She pressed the end call button.

She glanced at the clock hanging on the opposite wall and frowned. She hadn’t even noticed how late it was getting. Naruto should be home soon. She couldn’t help but worry. Naruto always complained that she was over-protective but If he wasn’t with Sasuke, then where was he? Walking into the kitchen, she placed the cordless phone back on its cradle. Minato sat at the kitchen table, papers scattered all around him.

“Has Naruto called?” She asked.

“Hm?” Minato hummed distractedly. “Oh, no, he hasn’t.”

“It’s late. Sasuke just called looking for him,” she worried.

“Don’t panic, dear. I’m sure he’ll be home any minute.”  
____

Sasuke dragged his feet all the way to school. He was tired and depressed. Naruto hadn’t called him back all weekend. Sasuke stayed in both Saturday and Sunday waiting for his friend’s call. He felt crummy about bailing on Naruto last Friday. The fact that the blonde hadn’t caved in and called him back was just proof of how mad Naruto was. And then there was that conversation Sasuke had with his mom on Saturday.

She had come into his room after knocking once. Her face was pale and she looked sad. She asked Sasuke about Naruto. She asked if he had seen him or heard from Naruto since school on Friday. When Sasuke said he hadn’t, she gathered him into a hug and didn’t let go for five whole minutes. For the rest of the weekend, both she and his dad were quiet.

It was Monday now, and Sasuke was determined to make up with Naruto. There was no way the blonde’s mom would let him skip school, so Naruto would have no choice but to face him. He had already practiced his apology in the mirror when he was brushing his teeth this morning. He didn’t even care when Itachi made fun of him for it over breakfast.

When he got into the classroom he was shocked to see a huge police officer talking with Iruka. His teacher was frowning and nodding. Sasuke glanced around for his friend, excitement momentarily making him forget that they were fighting. They had a guest speaker in class, and it was a cool police officer. Surely Naruto would be ecstatic about this.

Naruto wasn’t sitting in his assigned seat though. Slowly, Sasuke made his way to his own desk and sat down and tried not to pout. He hoped Naruto was just running late, but lost faith once Iruka started taking roll-call. Sasuke noticed his teacher had accidentally missed calling Naruto’s name. He was about to raise his hand to let him know about his mistake, but Iruka began talking.

“Class, this is Officer Kisame.” Iruka introduced.

“Hello officer Kisame,” the class chorused back.

“He has a few questions about one of your classmates, and would like us to help him answer them. Don’t worry, nobody is in trouble here…” Iruka stalled.

“Has anybody seen Naruto Uzumaki since Friday?” Kisame stepped forward, addressing the class with booming authority. The students shifted in their seats.

A small, pink-haired girl shakily raised her hand.

“Sakura? Iruka asked hopefully.

“I saw him leaving school on Friday…” she said quietly.

“Did you see him after?” Iruka asked gently. She shook her head.

“Did he say where he was going?” Iruka pressed. She shook her head negatively again, sinking lower in her desk.

Sasuke hesitated for a second before raising his own hand. His stomach had turned to stone. He didn’t really understand why this police officer was asking about Naruto, but he was beginning to fear the worst.

“Yes, you?” Kisame pointed at him.

“He… He was going to catch frogs…” Sasuke mumbled, “At the secret pond.”

“What secret pond?” Kisame demanded. He shared a look with Iruka, the nodded.

“Sasuke, would you mind going to the office with officer Kisame, please? He just wants to ask you more about the pond.” Iruka asked kindly.

He didn’t want to, but Sasuke slowly followed the large and intimidating officer out of the classroom. He wanted to ask what this was all about but was too scared to speak up. They made their way to the office, where Kisame spoke to the secretary and pointed at Sasuke a lot. The boy sat on a chair against the wall. He heard the officer say something about calling Sasuke’s parents and hoped he wasn’t in trouble. The secretary was nodding and her face got the same expression that his parents and Iruka’s face had. She picked up the phone and began dialing.

Kisame sighed and took the seat next to Sasuke. The dark-haired boy was nearly blown away when the officer smiled at him. “I bet you’re wondering what this is all about...”

Sasuke nodded.

“Your friend, Naruto, didn’t come home after school on Friday. He’s been missing all week end. Did he say anything to you about leaving?” Kisame pressed.

“No… We were going to the pond… but I didn’t go with him.” Never in his entire life has Sasuke felt so guilty. Naruto was… missing? He could be hurt, he could be gone forever… and all because Sasuke had ditched him!

“Sir…” The secretary interrupted, holding the phone out to him. “Mr. Uchiha is on the line…”  
Kisame stood and reached the phone. Sasuke listened to him explain the situation to his father. After a short conversation the hulking man handed the phone back to the secretary. “Thanks.”

“Alright, little Uchiha. You and I are going to take a little drive.” He announced when he turned back to the child and grinned sharply.  
__________________

Sasuke was incredibly nervous, but he did his best to direct the police officer to his and Naruto’s secret pond. He prayed in the back of his mind that Naruto wouldn’t be too upset with him for showing somebody else their special place, but decided it was the blonde’s fault for disappearing in the first place. Sasuke tried to think that, but he couldn’t shake the knowledge that all of this was actually his own fault. He shouldn’t have ditched Naruto. He should have gone with him. Did Naruto run away because he was so upset… or did something bad happen? Sasuke’s heart had dropped to his stomach and refused to leave. He couldn’t even bear the thought that anything had happened to his best friend.

When they had the park the police cruiser, Sasuke led the way on foot, making his way down the familiar path. He stepped over the fallen branches with practiced ease, not even smirking when the police officer following him stumbled over every one. Naruto would have found that funny. Maybe Naruto was being stubborn. Maybe he had decided to stay at the pond until Sasuke came for him and apologized. Sasuke hoped so. Then he would be in a lot of trouble by his parents, and Iruka, and even the police! That would show the cheeky blonde… and, if he was just waiting for Sasuke, then Naruto wouldn’t be missing. He would be okay.

Finally, they reached the clearing. Sasuke was disappointed to see that his friend wasn’t there waiting for him, though he supposed that wasn’t very likely anyway.

All that was waiting for him was Naruto’s red backpack, lying at the base of their tree.


	2. Returned from the dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Naruto's abduction

**K** ushina fingered the marble eye of her son’s stuffed frog toy absently. She sat gracelessly on the messy floor in his bedroom, leaning against the unmade bed. It was approaching four in the morning, but she couldn’t sleep. She hadn’t slept properly since her son disappeared two months ago.  She hadn’t been to work in weeks, stopped making an effort in the morning to get out of her pyjamas, and couldn’t stomach food. No amount of pleading from her husband returned her peace of mind. She was heartbroken. She was completely devastated.

Every day that passed without any word about her son eroded her hope. Naruto, her precious baby, her only son, her everything, was gone; likely dead. He had probably suffered unimaginably before being murdered viciously. How could she cuddle up her husband each night and sleep peacefully knowing that her son, if by some miracle was still alive, was being tortured?

Minato, bless his heart, was fairing only a little better. He still cried every day, still thought about his son every second, and still missed his wife each night, but he had to stay strong for them. If somebody noticed him making more and more mistakes at work, they didn’t mention it.

They had gone to the public, begging to the press for anyone with information about their son to come forward. They cried and promised that they only wanted him home, safe. They put up posters all over their small town of Naruto’s beaming face. The police promised that they were still looking. And yet, after all of this, there was still no sign of their little boy.

Just passed six in the morning, when Minato stumbled out of the bedroom after yet another sleepless night, he paused in the doorway of his son’s bedroom. Kushina continued to stare at the stuffed frog in her hands. Minato shook his head sadly, moving forward into the still-dark room to sit beside his wife. She didn’t act like she noticed his presence, but leaned into his embrace when he wrapped his arms around her.

He decided that the world had already stopped turning for them. If he missed work, well, he couldn’t care less.

 

* * *

 

 

**S** asuke stared morosely down to the path of his and Naruto’s secret pond. It had been completely fenced off. Now if he and his friend wanted to go play there they would have to climb the fence, or find another way in. Naruto might actually be happy about that, Sasuke mused. He revelled in any chance to show off his ninja skills.

That was if Naruto ever came home. The days since his friend had gone missing slowly turned to weeks, then to months. Sasuke wanted to cling to the belief that his friend would be back any day, he wanted to believe that Naruto was okay. He had to believe it! The guilt and pain he experienced since that day were going to eat him alive.

The things he thought he cared about before just stopped seeming important. Who cared if he failed that spelling test, or if he didn’t feel hungry, or if his friend’s wanted him to come to the park? Nobody understood that all those things were pointless to him now. His best friend was gone, maybe forever, and it was all Sasuke’s fault.

Of course, his mother and father were worried about him. He heard them whispering in the kitchen when they thought he wasn’t paying attention. His mother said things like she thought he was depressed, about wanting to make him see a therapist. His father said that Sasuke was only eight, he was too young to be truly depressed, and he did not want some quack filling his son up on prescription drugs.

It seemed like Itachi was the only one who even sort of understood Sasuke anymore, which was very surprising. Itachi would let him sit quietly in his room, and wouldn’t bother him with stupid questions like _why_. He didn’t say anything when Sasuke started crying for no apparent reason. He would simply offer him some tissues and a glass of water.

Sasuke didn’t know what convinced him to tell Itachi the truth; that it was his fault that Naruto was missing. He told him all about being mean to Naruto, how Sasuke ditched him over and over again to hang out with other people. And about the day Naruto went missing, how Sasuke was supposed to be there with him.

Itachi had gathered his sobbing brother into his arms in one of his rare hugs and let Sasuke get everything off of his chest. He stroked Sasuke’s feather-soft hair until the younger boy’s breathing calmed to distressed hiccups and small sighs. Itachi was six years older than his brother, and he knew it was his responsibility to protect him at all costs. He thought he may have to scare off a few bullies, or calm his father when he came down too hard on Sasuke’s grades. This, though, was not something he was prepared for.

How do you protect somebody from an invisible force? From grief, guilt, or sadness?

When he spoke, he made sure Sasuke was listening. “It’s not your fault, Sasuke.”

And he continued to hug his brother as the tears and sobs started again with renewed fervor.

Still, Sasuke thought to himself as he walked back to the main path to get home, no matter what his brother said… it was impossible not to feel responsible. Itachi told him that if he had gone to the pond with Naruto, then maybe whoever had taken the blonde would have also taken Sasuke. What Sasuke didn’t tell Itachi was that he would have preferred it that way. Then Naruto wouldn’t be alone, and Sasuke wouldn’t have to feel like his chest was caving in every single day.

Sasuke was so lost in thought, as was the norm these days, that he didn’t even hear Suigetsu calling out to him until a hand fell on his shoulder.

“Hey man,” the fair-haired boy hedged. In the sun, his hair was white. His usual grin was missing today. He shifted on his feet, avoiding eye contact. Karin and Juugo stood behind him. They didn’t speak, though Karin did spare him a small smile. Sasuke felt the tension coming from them in waves. He had been avoiding them since Naruto went missing; partly because his guilt was refreshed every time he saw them, and partly because he blamed them as well.

“What is it?” Sasuke sighed, staring at his feet.

Suigetsu glanced to his friends behind him for support. “Well…” he started.

Sasuke really didn’t have the energy to deal with this. He just wanted to go home and sleep and hope that Naruto would show up tomorrow. He started walking again.

“Oi, oi, oi!” Suigetsu panicked, following the younger boy quickly. “I just wanted to say sorry!”

That caused Sasuke to pause. “Sorry…” he repeated to himself. “Why?”

“Well… your friend, he’s missing, right?” Suigetsu grew awkward again. “My mom is really freaked out about it! She won’t even let me out after dinner anymore.”

“My dad is the same way!” Karin chimed in.

“I heard he was kidnapped.” Juugo said quietly. Sasuke’s hands clenched.

The police had come to the conclusion that somebody had taken Naruto from that pond. There were two sets of footprints in the mud, one obviously too big to belong to an eight-year-old boy.  Just footprints and an abandoned school bag… Other than that, there was nothing. No evidence, no leads, no suspects, no proof of anything.

“I feel really bad about it.” Suigetsu dropped his gaze to the sidewalk.

“You should.” Sasuke said bluntly. Inexplicably, fire erupted in his stomach. He felt angry. He turned to face the other three properly and was not disappointed when they visibly flinched from his glare.

“Hey man,” Suigetsu said again, taking a step back.

“It _is_ your fault he’s gone. He’s probably _dead_ , you know.” He continued mercilessly. “You didn’t let him hang out with us. He was left alone, and now he’s gone.”

“That’s not fair!” Karin cried. She looked like she wanted to say more but stopped herself.

“Yeah,” Suigetsu found courage from Karin’s protest. “If it’s our fault, then you’re also to blame!”

Sasuke scoffed. The fire died. He turned his back on the three and started back on his way home.

“I know.”

* * *

 

 

**M** ikoto watched her youngest son from her spot in the kitchen. He was sitting on the couch, watching the television unblinkingly. It was late, nearly eleven o’clock, and a school night. He should have been in bed hours ago, yet she couldn’t find it in herself to send him there. His school attendance was sporadic at best, lately. She knew he wouldn’t be going tomorrow, either. She sighed, glancing at the clock. She would let him finish whatever he was watching now and then see him to bed. He needed his rest, no matter what.

Mikoto never knew heartbreak like she had witnessed in her son. She knew he was desperately upset about his best friend. She had tried everything she could think of to cheer him up, but nothing had worked. And her husband was stubborn on the issue of getting Sasuke professional help. As the days passed, she knew that something had to be done.

Another half hour passed with no word spoken between them. Both Fugaku and Itachi had excused themselves to their own bedrooms respectively two hours before. Mikoto caught herself yawning again. It was time for bed, for both her and her son. She opened her mouth to say as much to Sasuke, when a quiet knock interrupted her train of thought.

She paused, unsure if she had actually heard something, or if her tired mind was playing tricks on her. Mikoto glanced at Sasuke, frowning. He hadn’t moved. It didn’t appear as though he had heard anything. Then it happened again, a more definite knock at the front door. Her frown deepened. She wondered who would be knocking at this time of night as she moved towards the front door.

When she opened it, her heart stuttered to a dead stop.

Naruto stood with his hand still raised, as if to knock on the door again. In the dim light, she could see that his face was covered in black blood. He was filthy all over and his legs were trembling.

“Naruto!” She gasped, dropping to her knees in front of him. “What…”

“Is Sasuke home?” he asked quietly. Mikoto saw his eyes were glazed, staring blankly at his feet. She wanted to scoop him into her arms but was frozen in shock.

“Come in!” She shook, raising to her feet and opening the door wider. The boy stumbled in.

“Fugaku!” She shouted up the stairs, uncaring if she woke everybody in the neighbourhood. Her mind spun out of control. She knew she had to call the police, the ambulance, and Naruto’s parents. She needed some grounding first, and her husband was always her rock.

Sasuke jumped to his feet when he heard his mom yelling, only to stop dead at the sight of his best friend standing in living room entrance. Naruto’s nose was bleeding, or it had been recently, judging from the blood stained underneath it. His cheeks were the worst, dirty and congealed with dried and new blood. His blonde hair was matted and nearly black with soot. He was wearing the same clothes that he had on that fateful Friday, but now they were tattered and filthy. The swirl design on his stomach was unrecognizable, hidden behind a large black-brown stain. And his shoes were missing.

“Naruto!” Sasuke cried. The tears he had been holding back all day sprung suddenly to his eyes. He rushed to his friend and hugged him with all of his strength. It occurred to him that he might be hurting his friend, but could not find the will to let go or loosen his grip. The blonde smelled absolutely rank.

“Where have you been?!” Sasuke sobbed helplessly.

Naruto slowly brought his arms up and wrapped them around his friends’ waist. He rested his head against Sasuke’s. They could hear Sasuke’s parents yelling to each other, making phone calls, turning on lights.

Naruto breathed deeply, “I think I died.”

Sasuke didn’t have time to question what his friend meant. Naruto was taken from him by several EMT workers and police officers that had suddenly swarmed the room. Mikoto grabbed her youngest son and held him firmly even as he struggled to get back to Naruto.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was so inspired by everybody's thoughtful comments. I want to say thankyou to everybody who took the time to read this! I hope the second chapter isn't disappointing. I know nothing much happens! This is actually the second half of what I planned for the first chapter. Oh well! Next will be more transition, then we can finally get to the spooky stuff.


	3. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto recovers in the hospital

**N** aruto loved his parents, he really did, but he was getting irritated by the way his mother constantly pushed his hair back from his face and the hushed tone his father used every time he spoke to him. It certainly did not help his mood any that he was stuck in the boring hospital and that Sasuke had not been allowed to visit him since he had been admitted.

He sighed miserably, leaning back against the stiff hospital pillow. His mother stroked his hair again. Annoyed, he leaned away from her touch. “Stop it,” he complained, then ruffled his hair roughly as a sign of protest. His mother’s eyes grew glassy and she dropped her hand as though he had slapped it away. She had been perpetually weepy since he had woken up here, always fretting and touching him as though he were about to disappear at any moment.

“What’s the matter, champ?” Minato asked him softly, squeezing his wife’s shoulder reassuringly. She was seated beside her son’s hospital bed. Rather than taking his own seat, he chose to alternate between standing behind her and pacing the small room.

It broke his heart into tiny, fragile pieces when he looked at his son. Naruto was like a shadow of his former self; he had lost weight he couldn’t afford to lose, he was pale, tired, annoyed. Even his voice had changed, taking on a hoarse quality that no 8-year-old should possess. Every time Minato caught himself staring at the bandages around his son’s wrists, he thought of the way Naruto must have been restrained and he had to resume pacing before he lost control and vomited on the floor, or broke something.

“I’m bored!” Naruto whined, “When is Sasuke coming?”

His parents shared a look, which Naruto knew meant that his friend would not be coming _any time soon_.

“Soon,” his father soothed.

He huffed, deliberately turning away from them. The thick square bandages on his cheeks pulled when he frowned. Absently, he started picking at the corners of the medical tape.

“Don’t do that,” his mom chided.

“It itches!” he grumbled. “I want to go home…”

A soft knock on the closed door interrupted anything his parents might have said, though, he suspected that they wouldn’t have responded anyway. They always grew quiet and said when he complained about wanting to go home.

The door opened to reveal a young woman with short dark hair. She wasn’t wearing scrubs or a white coat that indicated her as a nurse or doctor, although she did have a lanyard around her neck with a laminated picture of her smiling face on it. She clutched an armful of books and papers against her chest. Minato rushed to meet her at the door, extending his hand in greeting.

“Hello, sorry to interrupt,” the woman said with a friendly smile. “My name is Shizune, I’m the child’s counselor employed by the hospital.”

“I’m Minato, Naruto’s father, and this is Kushina,” Minato replied indicating to his wife. Kushina rose to shake Shizune’s hand as well.

“Nice to meet you,” Kushina said graciously, nervously pushing her long red hair behind her ear with her free hand.

“The pleasure is mine,” Shizune assured, then turned to the child staring at her from the hospital bed. “And you must be Naruto!”

When he didn’t reply, Kushina sighed, “don’t be rude, Naruto…”

“I’m not rude!” he snapped.

“It’s alright, I’m sure we will be fast friends!” Shizune said cheerfully. “I thought you must be bored sitting here all day, so I brought you something.”

That piqued Naruto’s interest. “What did you bring?” he asked excitedly. Shizune took one free chair next to his bed and placed her armload of papers on the other. She pulled out a notebook with clear white paper and a package of pencil crayons from the pile and handed them to the youth. “I thought we could colour together.”

Naruto fingered the box of pencil crayons, suddenly feeling shy for his attitude. “Thank you,” he mumbled.

Minato and Kushina crushed their hands together. It had been a rough couple of days—hell, it had been a rough couple of months. Since Naruto had mysteriously shown up at the Uchiha’s residence, it had been nothing but meetings with cops and doctors and trying to deal with their son’s flaring temper.  But there were precious moments when they could see Naruto’s true personality still perfectly intact and shining through.

“I’m just going to speak with your mom and dad for a little outside, why don’t you start drawing something for me?” Shizune suggested, she stood and pulled around the bedside tray for Naruto to use as a sturdy surface to draw. He sat up eagerly, smiling at the woman for her efforts.

The worried parents followed the younger woman outside of the room, hands still fastened tightly together.  They made their way to a nearby seating area, where Shizune took a seat and motioned for them to do the same.

“I was wondering if you could tell me a little about Naruto’s condition.” She began.

“Well… He was missing for two months, and then one night about a week ago, he just showed up at his friend’s house. The doctor’s say that, psychically, he is going to be alright. He was malnourished, dehydrated, and exhausted. He slept for nearly three days straight.” Minato explained slowly, gathering his thoughts. “He had a few bruises and scrapes, but most alarming are the cuts on his face. Three symmetrical slashes on each cheek, they look like they were done very precisely… also…”

Shizune nodded sympathetically, “take your time.”

Kushina squeezed his hand. Minato hadn’t realized he had trailed off and was staring vacantly at the tiled floor. Remembering the state his only son had been in when they first laid eyes on him after two months was enough to choke him.

“Whoever took him tattooed a strange mark on his stomach.” Kushina finished for him.

“Tattooed?” Shizune asked, taken aback. In all her years of working with traumatized youth, she had never heard a kidnapper tattooing their victim.

“It’s a design I’ve never seen before,” Kushina shook her head. “What kind of sick person tattoos a child! What kind of perverted, sick person takes an innocent child…” she heaved a heavy sigh. “Sorry. I just still don’t know how to deal with any of this…”

“Don’t apologize. It’s important for you both to know that these reactions are perfectly justified. Once you can begin to understand your own emotions, you can help Naruto deal with his. Have you noticed any change in his behaviours?”

Again, the worried parents shared a meaningful look. “He says he doesn’t remember anything,” Minato explained. “The cops have been by a handful of times to get information from him, but he just keeps repeating that he doesn’t remember. When he’s pushed, he begins to shout and cry until they leave.”

“We’ve noticed a few little things,” Kushina continued, “He doesn’t seem to like being touched anymore. He used to love long hugs and cuddles, but now he gets uncomfortable and annoyed with it quickly. He’s always been a little temperamental but lately, he’s been moodier than ever….He’s had a few nightmares, though never remembers what they’re about, and he hates the dark, which is new.”

“And then there are times when it seems like nothing’s changed at all. He’s still the sweet, hyperactive and emotional child he’s always been.” Minato said fondly.

Shizune nodded and hummed. “When a child experiences something traumatic, it is common for them to block it from their memory as a way of coping. The memories may come back to him, maybe as nightmares, or they might not. The irritability and development of new fears are also fairly common.”

She stood and brushed out her skirt. “My plan is to meet with Naruto twice a week. I want to talk with him about what he’s been through, if he can remember anything, and try to help him deal with any new emotions he may experience. I’m going to chat with him for a few minutes today, so why don’t you two go get something to eat?”

 

* * *

 

 

“ **T** hat’s a lot of tails for one fox,” Shizune commented, studying Naruto’s picture. He paused, staring down at his work critically. Then he resumed scribbling with his orange pencil crayon.

Shizune set down the pink pencil crayon she was using to colour in her poorly drawn flower. “I’m happy we can be friends now, Naruto.”

 “Are you going to bring me presents every time you come?” Naruto smiled charmingly at her.

Shizune laughed and shook her head. “We’ll see,” she teased. “It makes me happy to see you smiling. Your mom and dad tell me you’ve been through something very scary. Do you want to talk about it?”

Naruto shrugged. “It’s not scary. I don’t remember it.”

“Do you think you can tell me the last thing you remember, before waking up in the hospital?”

Naruto set down the orange pencil crayon and picked out the red one. He continued to colour, avoiding Shizune’s dark eyes. “Sasuke.” He answered after a moment.

“Is that your friend?” She questioned.

“Yeah! He’s my bestest friend, ever!” Naruto enthused, grinning at her.

Shizune smiled indulgently. “I see.” She picked up a green pencil crayon and began to draw grass around her flower.

“We were going to hunt frogs…” Naruto offered. “Then…I remember walking down the street… I knew I was near Sasuke’s house, so I wanted to go there. I didn’t have any shoes on.” His blonde brows furrowed as he tried to focus on the muddled memories. “That’s all I remember.”

“That’s alright, Naruto. Thank you for sharing with me. I wonder if you wouldn’t mind sharing one more thing, though.”

“I dunno…” he said hesitatingly.

“Your mom and dad tell me that you have a mark on your stomach. Can I see it?” She asked gently.

“I don’t want to…” Naruto shook his head.

“That’s okay. Maybe you can draw it for me?” she pushed.

Naruto flipped the page in his notebook and picked up the black pencil crayon. Slowly, he drew a large swirl in the middle before carefully adding squirming designs extending from all around it. When he was finished, he stared at his finished product blankly.

“Is that it?” Shizune asked softly. The little boy nodded, and pushed it towards her.

“Thank you very much!” She said cheerfully.  She signed her name at the bottom of her picture and handed it to Naruto. “This is for you.” Slowly she stood and began gathering her papers.

“It’s about time I leave, but before I do, do you have any questions for me?”

Naruto shrugged. “No.”

“I’ll be back to see you in two days, okay. Take care of yourself until then, Naruto.” She smiled again before making her way out of the room. Closing it behind her, she nearly walked face first into two worried parents.

“So?” Kushina asked anxiously. Shizune suppressed a sigh.

“I still want to meet with him more, but I think that Naruto’s going to be alright.” She dug through the bundle of papers in her arms, producing a pamphlet with a business card attached to it. “This is my card; please feel free to call me at any time if you have any questions or concerns.”

Minato looked down at the pamphlet which boldly read _‘Traumatic Stress and my Child’_. “Thank you,” He mumbled.

“I get the feeling that Naruto may be more inclined to express himself through dramatic play or art rather than verbally.” Shizune offered, empathizing with the stressed and worn out parents. Shizune wasn’t a mother, but she had worked with enough grieving families to recognize the heartache in their expressions. “I’ll call you in two days to set up another appointment. Please take care of yourselves.”

“You as well,” Kushina nodded thankfully. They watched Shizune walk down the hall until she was out of their line of sight, feeling both relieved and overwhelmed all at once.

 

* * *

 

 

“ **S** asuke, please don’t chew on your fingers,” his mother reprimanded him from the front seat. Sasuke dropped his hand to his lap, only to pull his bottom lip between his teeth as a replacement a moment later. He was nervous, his dark eyes trying to capture the entirety of the scene passing outside the car window.

Finally _, finally_ , he was allowed to visit Naruto. He had thought that once Naruto was back and safe that the stomach-twisting nerves would finally leave him alone, but this past week had proven him wrong. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so if he had just been allowed to see his friend, but since Naruto had shown up suddenly in Sasuke’s living room, he was taken away again just as quickly.

His father tried to explain to him that it was important to respect the wishes of the Namikaze-Uzumaki family and give them time to reunite and heal. Sasuke thought he was going to lose his mind waiting for Naruto’s parents to stop hogging his blonde friend.

After what seemed like years, Kushina had called and said that Naruto had been repeatedly begging for Sasuke to come and visit him.

Now Sasuke was beside himself with nerves. He picked out a book from the bookstore to give to Naruto. It was big and all about toads, with lots of different kinds and pictures. He hoped Naruto liked it. Half way down the hospital hallway, though, Sasuke began to second guess his choice.

Naruto didn’t like books! He would think this gift was really stupid. He would ask Sasuke to leave. Besides, Sasuke fretted. Maybe Naruto was still mad at him. It was a long time ago now, but Sasuke _did_ ditch him on that day. And the blonde had ended up getting kidnapped because of that.

 Itachi noticed his little brother begin to lag behind. “Aren’t you excited to see Naruto? Come on, hurry up.”

“Coming,” Sasuke mumbled, dragging his feet.

“What’s the matter?” Itachi asked quietly, walking back to meet stand beside him.

“What if he’s mad at me?” Sasuke sniffled and picked at the edges of the book with his free hand.

“I promise you he’s not. Now come on.” Itachi smiled kindly.

The Uchiha family stopped in front of the bright blue door. Fugaku knocked twice before he opened the door.

“You made it,” Minato smiled warmly, welcoming them in by grasping Fugaku’s hand for a hearty shake.

“Of course,” he returned. “How have you been?”

Mikoto stepped forward and embraced Kushina, stroking her long red hair. “How’re you, my dear?” She asked kindly.

“Sasuke!” Naruto cheered from his bed. “Sasuke! Sasuke! _Sasuke_! You’re here!”

Itachi gently pushed his younger brother forward.  “See?” he murmured.

Sasuke stumbled but carried the momentum and walked to Naruto’s bedside. “Hi,” he said a bit shyly.

Naruto blinded him with a megawatt smile. He struggled to reach his dark-haired friend. “Come here and hug me!” he demanded.

Sasuke climbed onto the bed and fell into the blonde’s awaiting arms, careful this time not to hurt him. Naruto didn’t seem to mind, he squeezed Sasuke for all he was worth but released him quickly. When the embrace ended, he leaned back on his pillows and stared with glowing eyes.

“I missed you,” Naruto sighed. “Mom wouldn’t even let me call you!”

Sasuke cursed himself when he felt his throat close up and tears pool in his eyes. “Stupid,” he muttered, ducking his head. “You have no idea…”

Naruto smiled softly at his friend. He was starting to get used to this reaction from people. Naruto was told that he had been missing for a long time, but to him, it felt like only a day. “Don’t cry, you baby. I’m okay.”

“I’m not crying!” Sasuke denied vehemently, scrubbing the offending tears away.

“Are, too!” Naruto laughed. He noticed the book sitting beside Sasuke’s lap. “Hey, did you bring me a present? It’s only polite to bring sick people presents, you know!”

“Ahh…” Sasuke hesitated. “Yeah, but it’s dumb…” shyly, he extended the book to his friend. Naruto grabbed the book from him, staring at the cover.

“Oh… frogs.” He said blankly. There was a squirming sensation in his stomach. He remembered… they were going to catch frogs after school. Then… What happened? Sasuke shifted. Naruto could see his friends expression fall, it looked like he was about to start crying again. His mom always told him it was polite to be happy and say thank you when somebody gave you a gift, no matter what. Naruto smiled at his friend as happily as he could. “Thanks!”

“You hate it!” Sasuke accused.

“No!” Naruto protested. “It’s great!”

“Don’t lie!” Sasuke crossed his arms. “I know you better than that…”

Naruto sighed dramatically. “I’m not lying… come here,” he scooted closer to the side of the bed where his IV drip was still attached, making room for his dark-haired friend. “Let’s look at it together.” Sasuke did not need a second invitation and jumped at the opportunity to be close to his friend. While they flipped through the pages, pointing out cool and gross looking toads, Sasuke couldn’t help but notice Naruto’s appearance. He had thick bandages on his face and around his wrists. He had always been thin, but now his collar bones stuck out noticeably.  And worst of all was the horribly fake smile stuck to his lips.

“Are you really alright?” Sasuke whispered.

“I’m better than alright, I’m the best!” Naruto cheered.

“But… you’re hurt?” Sasuke insisted. He lightly traced his finger along the thick gauze on Naruto’s wrist. The blonde shrugged and tried to pull his from Sasuke’s touch casually.

“Nah… It doesn’t actually hurt. I’m just…”

“What?” Sasuke pried when his friend trailed off. They both checked that their parents weren’t listening. The adults were congregated on one corner, talking quietly among themselves. Itachi sat against the wall, engrossed in a book.

Naruto tried to shrug it off like he usually did. He was tired of everyone making a fuss around him, especially since he honestly couldn’t remember what had happened, and therefore, it was not a big deal to him. At the same time, it was nice having Sasuke here. He knew that out of everybody, Sasuke would be the one to understand.

“I feel… scared? Only sometimes… but like… When people touch me? And when it’s dark… I don’t like people asking me what happened, over and over again. I don’t remember it, and I don’t want to… I just want to go home…” he explained haltingly. “I don’t want to be afraid of nothing anymore.” And he was annoyed that just talking about it was making his heart race and his eyes burn.

Sasuke quietly regarded his blonde friend, absorbing every word he said. “You don’t need to be afraid, Naruto,” He said solemnly. Slowly, he reached for his friend’s hand and was encouraged when Naruto didn’t pull away. “I will never let anything happen to you again.”

 

* * *

 

 

**K** ushina leaned against Minato’s warm chest, breathing deeply. For the first time in months, she felt content; almost happy, even. Minato wrapped his arms around her and sighed warmly. Together they observed their son, snuggled in his own bed, and illuminated by his brand new night-light.

After two long months being only God knows where, and three weeks spent at the hospital, finally their little boy was home. Naruto curled tighter around his new fox-stuffed animal, cuddling his scarred cheek into the soft fur before relaxing in his sleep.

“He’s home,” Minato breathed into her ear. He guided them both down the hall to their own room. “It’s over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Silly Minato, it's only just beginning.
> 
> Again, thank you so much for the wonderful comments and support. I was browsing tumblr the other day and I found that somebody had recommended this fic! I seriously almost died from happiness. I hope this chapter lives up to the hype!! It's a bit longer, but I wanted to get this out of the way. 
> 
> So now that we are getting to the scary stuff (slowly but surely) I wanted to ask if any of you have any ghost stories you would like to share?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a big heartfelt apology for the delay! Thank you for all of your wonderful comments and kudos. I have a crush on all of you!  
> Please ignore any and all mistakes, this has been proofread by my sleep-deprived brain only and written in one night.

**Eight years later**

 

* * *

 

**N** aruto accepted the fact that his childhood experience had forever changed certain things in his life, and an extremely paranoid mother was just one of those things. He reminded himself of that fact again as he bit back another sigh and looked beseechingly to his father.  Behind Kushina’s back, Minato shrugged at his son; a gesture that suggested Naruto had best just grin and bare it, as Kushina once again went through _The List_.

_The List_ was a five-and-a-half-page long document that detailed every possible, though not completely plausible, emergency and procedure that had even the slightest chance of happening while Naruto was left in the house alone. It was another thing that Naruto had accepted as part of his unavoidable fate. Though he supposed he shouldn’t complain too much. It was a miracle that Kushina had even agreed to let him stay home alone, and he was very happy that she had relented on the topic of a babysitter—he was nearly sixteen years old!

“If there are any emergencies, you know to go straight to—“

“I know, mom. Go straight to Sasuke’s.” Naruto could not completely hide the tone of exasperation in his voice. Kushina frowned as she regarded him; her shoulders sagged slightly.

“Maybe we should stay,” she mumbled, turning to her husband.

“Mom!” Naruto protested, having lost his patience. “You need to sto…” he trailed off under the force of his mother’s glare. “Dad, please!” he tried again.

“Kushina, we did make these plans ages ago… I thought you said you were ready,” Minato said gently, smoothing his hand down her arm.

Naruto groaned and turned his back to his parents so they wouldn’t see him roll his eyes. He knew that his abduction years ago was more traumatizing for his parents than it was for him, but sometimes he really wished they would just get over it already. His mother, particularly, had a hard time letting go. She acted as though Naruto were on the brink of disappearing again the moment he was out of her sight. Naruto tried to understand, he really did, but there were times when Kushina’s protection felt less like safety and more like prison.  It had been worse, years ago, when he was still a child and unable to fend for himself. Back then he had even been a little happy for it.  Now all he wanted was the same freedom his friends had.

When he turned back, both of his parents were looking at him with twin expressions of years-old sadness, resignation, and a hint of pride.

“I’ll be okay, I promise.” He tried on his most reassuring smile and watched his mother’s resolve melt.

“Sometimes I forget how grown up you are,” Kushina sighed, brushing a long strand of red hair behind her ear.

“Sixteen in two weeks,” Naruto reminded her. His grin turned more natural. Kushina shook her head, a smile of her own gracing her lips. Her hair fell free from behind her ear to frame her round face. She really was beautiful.

“We’ll be home after midnight. Are you sure you’ll be fine on your own?” Kushina pressed, her brows creased with not-so-subtle worry.

Naruto knew he had won the battle. “Absolutely,” he nodded.

“Alright,” Kushina relented.

“Really?? You guys are the best!” Naruto wrapped both his parents in a grateful hug and didn’t get annoyed when his father ruffled his hair after being released.

“You know the rules,” Minato said dutifully, helping Kushina into her jacket. “Make sure you have your phone on you at all times, don’t answer the door for anybody, and do your homework before you play video games.”

“I know, I know. It’s all on _The List_ ,” Naruto agreed and ushered them towards the front door.

“I think he’s trying to get rid of us,” Minato noted to his wife.

“I wonder why,” she replied with a faux-suspicious glance to her son.

“Have a good time!” their son beamed at them.

As soon as the door was closed and locked behind them Naruto fist pumped. Maybe it was a little ridiculous that at fifteen-nearly-sixteen-years-old Naruto had never been left on his own. And maybe he was a little desperate for that opportunity, but Naruto had big plans tonight, and he needed his parents out of his hair.

He raced into the living room where he had discarded his cell phone previously and flopped onto the couch belly-first with it clutched in his hands.

He punched out a text message _, ‘there gone!!!!! ‘_

Sasuke had taken a part-time job at a small café diner, so Naruto didn’t expect a reply right away. It was still early, not even six o’clock.

He rolled onto the floor gracelessly and lay sprawled in the space between the couch and coffee table. He could hear the clock ticking the seconds by from the kitchen and noticed for the first time how quiet his house was. Had it always been this quiet? A sense of unease wormed its way to his stomach, his grin faltered. Usually he had at least one person with him, a friend, or a relative, to ease the silence. Why had he been so desperate to be alone, again?

His phone vibrated next to his head, startling him. He quickly reached for it.

_‘I’ll see you tonight, dobe’_

His smile returned full throttle. Oh yeah, that’s right.

Although it would have helped his case immensely, Naruto had withheld a small bit of information from his parents: Sasuke planned on coming over after his shift ended. He would sneak in and out before Kushina and Minato returned, non-the-wiser. Naruto knew that his parents would have been more comfortable leaving their son had they known, but Naruto wanted to keep it a secret. Tonight was special, just for him and Sasuke, and they had been planning it ever since Minato had hinted that Naruto may have the house to himself.

Tonight, Naruto was going to lose his virginity.

Still smiling to himself, Naruto reached up to the coffee table and groped blindly for the TV remote. He figured he would play video games to kill some time, homework be damned.

* * *

 

 

                **I** t had been hours since Naruto had pulled his eyes away from the television. There was nothing as distracting and entertaining as a good old fashioned video-game marathon. Camped out in front of the TV, Naruto tossed his Xbox controller to the side and stretched. A moment later, his breath hitched.

Without his noticing, the room had gotten dark. Autumn had descended, leaving the days shorter and shorter. He hadn’t realized it while he was playing but now the only light in the room was cast from the TV, and even that was flickering as his character pranced around the screen in victory. Sitting alone in the dark, Naruto hated himself for the fear that froze him.

A fear left over from childhood that he was absolutely ashamed of, and equally unable to rid himself of. How ridiculous, to be sixteen years old and still afraid of the dark. With his stomach twisted in knots, he picked up his cell. There were was one message from Sakura that he had received over an hour ago, reminding him of the homework he had disregarded earlier. Using the light from his phone, and steeling his nerves, he darted to the lamp beside the couch.

It flicked on, casting the room in a dim glow, yet did nothing to calm the gallop of his racing heart. Naruto thought about calling his mother, but knew that she would instantly detect the panic in his voice and race home, never to leave Naruto alone again. Instead, Naruto sat lightly on the edge of the sofa and tried to remember the breathing exercises Shizune had taught him when he was little.

* * *

 

**O** nce, when he was eleven, his friends had locked him in a closet as a joke.

 Before, Naruto had been glad to have made friends that had no idea about his past, and therefore had no reason to treat him any differently. A few of his classmates from the time had remembered that Naruto had been kidnapped as a child, but it was only a blip in their memory—it had no effect on their lives. Naruto returned to public school in the fourth grade surrounded by rumours and gossip. It was nearly enough to drive him straight back out. Luckily, after a few months of him swearing he didn’t remember anything and the teachers threatening any student who bothered him with detention, most people lost interest.

By sixth grade, it was like it never happened.

When the new girl, Ino, invited him to her birthday party, he was ecstatic. It was a very exclusive party, she had said. Naruto had suspected that he was only invited because he was best friends with Sasuke, but he couldn’t care less. Naruto didn’t even care when Kushina told Ino’s father all about Naruto’s abduction, and forced promises from the man to keep Naruto safe—as though anything were going to happen to him at a children’s’ birthday party.

Naruto had been having the time of his life, hyper from cake and fizzy pop and free him his parents telling him to calm down. It was even his idea to play a game of truth or dare, once Ino’s dad had been distracted. He had been hoping to dare Sakura to kiss him, but things went downhill quickly. Naruto had stupidly chosen truth when asked, and admitted to his deepest fear: the dark.

He had expected the laughter, but he hadn’t expected the dare that followed. Instead of daring him to kiss Sakura, he had been _double-doggy-dared_ to stay in the dark closet for five minutes.  Naruto looked around for Sasuke, hoping his friend would intervene on his behalf, but Sasuke had been annoyed by having been dared to kiss Ino and left the room, without following through on his dare.

 Naruto hadn’t lasted one minute before the panic set in.

His chest got tight, like there was no room for air, and he couldn’t breathe. A cold sweat froze him to the bone, he shivered uncontrollably. He reached for the door handle, ready to accept the humiliating defeat of failing his dare but the handle wouldn’t budge. That was when his mind betrayed him. Racing thoughts clouded his rationality, causing him to babble and beg to be let out, careless of the teasing the other children would surely revel in. He just couldn’t stop the terrifying thoughts—the flashes of memories-- _the intense yellow eyes peering in the dark, cold hands pulling at him, sinister laughter filling his head—_ he hadn’t been aware that he had been screaming.

When he regained consciousness, he was being hugged tightly to Sasuke’s chest while the dark haired boy growled at everyone to back off. Ino’s father had already called Naruto’s parents, who were likely breaking every traffic law in their race to get to their son. Naruto’s face was wet from tears. The scars on his cheeks stung. His chest still felt tight. He was still trembling. The others stood around them, quiet and guilty. Naruto hid his face, humiliated and miserable.

Sasuke left the party with Naruto, hissing and glaring at their so-called friends. For the rest of the evening, the two watched movie after movie. Naruto was grateful when Sasuke let him hold his hand and pretended like they did it all the time. Sasuke was just happy that Naruto wasn’t shying away from human touch again.

* * *

 

 

**T** hat was what Naruto hated most—the reminders that maybe he wasn’t quite as over everything as he wanted to be. He could go months without ever thinking of it, and then something would happen that would send his heart racing. The triggers became less sensitive over time, but there were still a few that he could not avoid. The most sudden and powerful of anxiety attacks came from being snuck up on, and being left in the dark.

Being snuck up on by the dark was just cruel.

It was past nine o’clock. Sasuke’s shift should have ended at eight thirty. _‘where r u?!?!’_ , Naruto texted.

A second later he sent, _‘r u on ur way????’_

Then a tad desperately he added, _‘plz hurry’_

After a minute of receiving no response, Naruto texted Sakura back. He claimed ignorance about the homework and asked to copy hers in the morning, though he knew that realistically she would never allow that. He hoped she would get riled up enough to return his text and distract him until Sasuke showed up. Unfortunately, his phone remained silent.

Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden knock on the door.

“It’s about time!” He shouted, shooting off of the couch. He unlocked it and threw the door open, the best glare in his arsenal set on his face, and again his heart missed a beat. Nobody stood on the other side of the door. “S-Sasuke…?” he called out, praying his friend was just playing a mean joke on him. A croaking frog answered from the lawn.

He slammed the door shut, fastened every lock, and raced back to the safety of the couch. God, he shouldn’t have reminded himself about the incident at Ino’s party. His mind must just be playing nasty tricks on him. He hadn’t actually heard a knocking on the door, and his chest was absolutely not tightening with the all-too-familiar panic.

He shakily picked up his cell, clumsy fingers already dialing Sasuke’s number---

A second knock on the door startled him so badly that he dropped the phone. It fell noiselessly to the carpeted floor. Another more insistent knocking came from the door. “Oh God, what the fuck...” Naruto groaned, pulling his knees up to his chest.

When a hand fell on his shoulder, Naruto reacted violently. He slapped the appendage away, jumping backwards so quickly that he flipped over the edge of the couch and knocked the lamp over with a crash.

“Calm down!” Sasuke’s voice pierced through the panic, Naruto glanced up hopefully despite himself. The lamp on the floor cast sinister shadows along the walls, but Naruto could clearly see the face of his best friend and that was enough to calm his pulse. He breathed out a shaky laugh, running a hand down his face. He really just had been imagining things.

“Are you alright?” Sasuke asked, not sharing his friends’ inappropriate amusement. “Why didn’t you answer me? I tried to call you like a million times!”

“Huh?” Naruto asked eloquently, accepting the hand Sasuke offered to pull him up. He picked up the lamp and returned it to the side table, noting absently that it hadn’t been broken. Thankfully. With Sasuke there, his panic significantly eased. He started to feel a bit lame that he had become so worked up, even. Naruto found his cell and flopped on the couch, breathing a heavy sigh.

“You really scared me, idiot,” Sasuke scolded. He folded his arms, refusing to let Naruto off the hook.

“I scared you?” Naruto laughed, shaking his head incredulously. “That was a mean trick you played, you bastard!” Naruto unlocked the phone, momentarily shocked by the dozens of missed calls and text messages he had. Strange, he mused, because he could have sworn he had just checked and there had been nothing. He hadn’t heard it ring even once, and some of these notifications were from hours ago. Naruto checked the time, surprised to note that it was already after ten o’clock.

“What trick?” Sasuke asked, irritated.

“Wait, how did you even get in here?”

“Through your bedroom window,” Sasuke huffed; he un-wrapped his red wool scarf from around his neck and unzipped his navy blue jacket, sitting carefully beside Naruto on the couch, “since you refused to answer the door.” He shot a sideways glare at the blonde. “What’s the deal anyway?”

“What do you mean?” Naruto played innocent. He was confused, he hadn’t noticed the time pass by—hadn’t he just checked and it was only nine? He went through his text message. Sakura had replied forty-five minutes ago, Sasuke called five times and replied to his texts informing Naruto that he was running late. He hadn’t noticed any of that. Still, Naruto wasn’t overly concerned. It was possible that he had lost cell service for a while. He had just gotten scared of the dark and overreacted like a dork. The knock he had heard likely came from Sasuke coming in through the window.

Sasuke gave him his most unimpressed look. “Don’t try that, dobe. You didn’t answer your phone or the door. I was worried… I was about to call your mom!”

“Oh God!” Naruto gasped sitting up straight and turning to face Sasuke, “You didn’t, right?”

“No, I didn’t. I thought I would try the window first… Naruto, what’s going on? You were just staring at nothing when I found you… You didn’t even react when I called your name.” Sasuke’s voice grew quiet and sad.

Naruto nudged his shoulder against Sasuke’s. “I’m sorry… I guess I just got a little freaked out.” That was a bit of an understatement. Naruto had been more than a little freaked if he were being honest. The missing time made him a bit nervous, as well, but he forced those thoughts away for now. Sasuke still seemed unimpressed with Naruto’s answer. The blonde knew he had to butter him up, “I’m glad you’re finally here, though,” Naruto needled.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Sasuke pushed, he reached out and gently stroked Naruto’s cheek.

“Absolutely,” Naruto smiled softly, leaning into the touch.

“I guess I remember my first time being left alone,” Sasuke finally smirked. He shrugged out of his coat and leaned back against the back of the couch. Naruto perked up at seeing his friends’ smile.

“Shut up, bastard!” Naruto laughed. He shoved Sasuke good-naturedly. Sasuke shoved him back, his smirk growing. This was more familiar, their typical wrestling match that usually progressed into a heated make-out session. Familiar and comfortable, they allowed their bodies to follow the routine.  After several heated minutes Naruto reached for the waistband of Sasuke’s pants, pausing only when Sasuke placed his hand on top to stop him.

“Are you sure?” He murmured lowly.

Throat dry, Naruto nodded dumbly. He was nervous; his heart had already begun pounding again, though this time it was with anticipation and excitement rather than stomach-dropping fear. It was the sort of nervousness he could enjoy. He was ready.

“Let’s go upstairs, then,” Sasuke kissed the shell of Naruto’s ear. The blonde shivered. He allowed Sasuke to help him up again from where the two had rolled onto the floor from the couch, similarly as Naruto had done himself earlier that evening. Still attached by the hands, he followed Sasuke up the stairs, not caring that he left his phone sitting alone on the couch.

It was difficult to describe their relationship with words, not that they really cared to. Their friends and parents constantly questioned them about it, but Naruto had never felt the need to have them understand. With Sasuke, he was happiest, safest, warmest. He wanted Sasuke there to experience everything with him, all the joy and all the sadness. It helped that Sasuke usually was there to experience it all with him, regardless of if Naruto had asked him to or not. They didn’t think too much about it when they kissed, or when they simply played video games together. So when their friends asked, Naruto would shrug and say, _“we’re best friends,”_ and that would be it. He knew, deep down, that best friends probably didn’t exactly cut it with them.

They had fooled around together plenty of times, but Sasuke had also fooled around with others a few times too. Naruto never admitted that it bothered him when Sasuke kissed other people because he knew he had no claim on his dark haired friend. He even tried to find other kissing partners for himself, but they were few and far between. When he had found out that Sasuke had lost his virginity, Naruto felt betrayed. It was another thing that Naruto would never admit to Sasuke. Naruto had just assumed that they would have their first time together like they had had their first kiss together. It was just another thing that Naruto wanted to experience with Sasuke.

Even if Sasuke hadn’t wanted his first time to be with Naruto, Naruto wanted his to be with Sasuke. It was hard getting a moment alone, however, between the ever-watchful eyes of their parents and friends— this is where Naruto really cursed his overprotective guard dogs-- so when Minato told Naruto that he had planned on taking Kushina out for a romantic evening, Naruto began to plan his own romantic evening.

The two boys reconnected the moment they entered Naruto’s room and fell hard onto the unmade bed. Somewhere between the wet kisses and groping hands, Naruto lost his shirt, and then Sasuke lost his pants. They continued to come together and part awkwardly as they fumbled to remove more clothing. Naruto’s skin caught fire. Every graze and kiss felt like electricity to his overstimulated brain. It was graceless and awkward, and Naruto loved every second.

They were just getting to the good part, they were both naked and gasping and ready, when Naruto’s bedroom door burst open and the light snapped on.

“Naru—Oh! Oh my god!” Kushina yelled, quickly shielding her eyes.

“Get out!” Naruto shouted. The effect of his mother walking in on them was similar to a bucket of ice cold water being dumped on their heads. Mortified, they parted and searched for their discarded clothing while trying to maintain their dignity under the blankets.

Kushina retreated back into the hallway, her eyes still covered. “Oh my god,” she repeated. “Oh my GOD! Get dressed and come downstairs at once!” She shut the bedroom door behind her and shouted for Minato.

Naruto groaned, flopping back onto his bed now that his pants were on, and slung his arm over his eyes. “I’m never going to live this down!”

Sasuke finished getting dressed and eyed the window longingly.

“Don’t even think about it!” Naruto hissed once he noticed his friends gaze. “You are facing the wrath of Kushina and Minato with me!”

“My jacket’s downstairs anyway,” Sasuke sighed, sitting beside the blonde. He glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table. “They’re early…” he pouted.

Naruto patted the blankets beside him, searching for his cell before remembering he left it downstairs. “They probably tried to call me and freaked out when I didn’t answer,” Naruto huffed, irritated.

Sasuke shot the blonde another patented glare. “I wonder what that’s like,” he replied sarcastically.

Naruto grinned sheepishly.

“Naruto!!” Kushina shouted from downstairs. “Come down, now!”

* * *

 

                **W** ell past midnight, Naruto lay alone in his bed, staring at the shadows his night-light cast on the walls, and thought back on the night’s events. It certainly had been busy. Naruto never wanted to experience _The Talk_ again, but he was glad that Sasuke stuck around to endure it with him. Having his mother repeatedly tell him that he was too young for sex was embarrassing as hell, especially because he disagreed but was too much of a coward to say it to her face. Even Minato had gotten worked up, which was a rare and terrifying experience in itself.

They vowed to never leave Naruto home alone again, if this was the kind of thing he planned on pulling behind their backs, before dismissing Sasuke. The poor boy slunk out, unable to make eye contact with anybody as he left. Naruto had texted him as soon as he got back to his room, but there had been no response. Sighing, Naruto shut his eyes and rolled onto his side.

 

 

 

His night-light flickered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed. Please let me know what you think! I have loads of creepy ideas for this fic.


	5. Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto dreams, but wishes he wouldn't

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Terribly sorry for the late update again. This should be expected of me, at this point. I did want to post this for Halloween, but well... *shrug*  
> I'm not that great with plot momentum, but hopefully things start picking up from here. Hope you enjoy!

**T** he path was overgrown, yet familiar. Despite not having been here for years, Naruto’s feet fell perfectly between the roots and branches that would threaten to trip less experienced travelers. He knew, distantly, that he should feel nervous, frightened, but his hands were steady and his pulse stayed even. Ahead, between the weather-bared trees, he saw the pond innocently lying as it usually did. He approached, almost curious, but more-so disconnected to any thought or feeling.

Why was he here? He hadn’t been here since the day he was abducted.

A bird chirping shattered the calm. He startled suddenly. It was followed by another, more and more birds chirping and cawing, filling the space with sound—with noise, horrible and deafening. He looked through the trees to the sky, expecting to see thousands of birds circling overhead and crammed on the branches, but the sky was black and empty. The trees remained bare.

At his feet, the pond began to bubble violently, black water turning into thick sludge. Naruto no longer felt calm or unconnected. Now he was frightened. He stepped back, prepared to make a hasty retreat down the path that had brought him here. How did he even get here? Why? His escape was blocked by a figure of a tall man, looming over him with piercing yellow eyes. He could barely make out a face, only sinister eyes and a mouth that was moving with words he could not hear over the screaming birds.

* * *

 

 

**A** sharp knock startled him awake.

“Naruto?” Kushina called through the door. “Are you alright? You’ve been in there for ages!”

Blinking sore eyes against suddenly too-bright lights, Naruto tried to gather his bearings. He stood in his bathroom, feet warm against the blue bathmat. His gaze was drawn to the mirror, taking in the details of his reflection with a sort of muted shock. His eyes were bloodshot, heavy with shadows underneath. Most alarming, though, was the blood that flowed unhindered from his nose. Judging by the almost impressive trail it left down to his neck, it had been bleeding for a while.

He felt like he had just woken up from a deep sleep. The dream was still fresh in his mind. How had he ended up in the bathroom? Was he still dreaming?

“Naruto!” Kushina knocked again, more insistently. “Answer me! I’m coming in!”

Snapping out of his daze, Naruto quickly lunged for the toilet paper roll. He gathered a wad and pressed it against the lower half of his face. “I’m fine, don’t come in!” he shouted. The door flew open anyway. Kushina looked prepared to reprimand her son for ignoring her first attempts to call him, but stopped at the sight of blood.

“Oh my god, are you alright? What happened?” She rushed to him, trying to remove the toilet paper wad to inspect the damage. Naruto shrugged uncomfortably out of her grasp.

“It’s just a nosebleed, I’m fine…”

Undeterred, she petted back his hair and soothed his cheeks. “It looks like you haven’t slept a wink! How long have you been up? I’ve been calling you for at least twenty minutes!”

Finally succumbing to his mother, he allowed her to take hold of the now dampened toilet paper and remove it. He focused his gaze on her furrowed red brows, trying still to make sense of the situation he found himself in so suddenly. Kushina clicked her tongue when he didn’t answer her.

“It looks like it’s stopped,” She sighed, throwing the bloody cloth into the garbage bin beside the toilet. She gently pushed him back to sit on the toilet, bustling around for a facecloth. After wetting it, she used the cloth to gently wipe away the trail of blood on his chin and neck. Naruto let her. He knew that any protest he made would be ignored, anyway.

“What time is it?” He asked after a moment of silence.

“Just passed six, I imagine. I got up to make breakfast and noticed you were in here. I didn’t think anything of it until I tried calling you down for breakfast but you didn’t answer. I was knocking and calling, but you…”

She pulled back, sitting on the edge of the tub. Naruto didn’t want to look into her eyes, knowing he would see only concern and sadness reflected back at him. He hated that he always made her sad and worried.

“I’m sorry…” he itched his damp skin. “I woke up with a nosebleed, but I didn’t want you to worry.” Well, that’s probably what happened.

“I worry more when you don’t talk to me,” Kushina sighed, folding the wet and bloody cloth in her lap.

Naruto sighed, now rubbing his dry eyes. They burned like when he fell into a serious video-game daze and forgot to blink. “Sorry,” he said again.

He looked up at her when she remained silent. Her expression still seemed so sad. “Are you sure you’re alright?” she asked softly. “You look tired…”

He felt tired, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. Instead he smiled as brightly as he could. “Absolutely. You said something about breakfast?”

On que, the fire detector broke the moment. “Shit!” Kushina hissed, racing out of the bathroom.

 

* * *

 

 

                  “ **W** ah, I’m so sleepy,” Naruto complained, resting his head on Sasuke’s shoulder. It had been a long day. He had no idea how he managed to stay awake all throughout school. Sasuke didn’t shrug him off, to his credit, he even shifted to accommodate the added weight.

“You should probably go to bed at a normal time,” he suggested mildly, with his attention mostly fixed on his cell.

“I did!” Naruto protested, nuzzling into the crook of Sasuke’s neck. He sighed dreamily, closing his eyes. “I had such a strange dream,” he mumbled. Not to mention a strange morning. He still wasn’t sure what to make of his apparent sleep walking. He just hoped it was a one-time thing

 “Hm,” Sasuke hummed. Naruto knew by that he meant _‘I’m sure’_ , but chose to let it slide. For the first time since the embarrassing incident, Sasuke was allowing Naruto to be affectionate and he wasn’t about to ruin it. It had been about a week since Kushina had busted in on them. Since then, Sasuke adamantly refused to come over and he wasn’t fond of Naruto’s lingering touches. On the opposite hand, Naruto was even more determined to lose his virginity. More than that, he supposed, he just really did not want Sasuke to pull away from him. He enjoyed whatever it was that they had going on, and he wanted more, not less.

“Oi, don’t fall asleep on me,” Sasuke grumbled, shrugging his shoulder to jostle the blonde. Naruto groaned in protest.

“m’not,” he mumbled, half-asleep already.

Sasuke sighed loudly. Not that he didn’t enjoy Naruto’s closeness, but the embarrassment was still too fresh. After being scolded by Kushina and Minato, Sasuke had slunk home thinking the worst had passed. He was not prepared to be bombarded the next day by his own parents, who thought it would be appropriate to give him the same horrifying talk, only with more graphic detail. It was just his luck that Itachi had overheard everything and took it upon himself, as big brother, to mercilessly tease Sasuke once their parents were out of earshot.

It was Itachi who was home with them currently, probably skulking outside the door with a camera, ready to snap a picture and use it as blackmail at any moment. Or maybe he was just being paranoid. Honestly, he felt a bit bad about pushing the blonde away at every turn. He actually rather enjoyed Naruto’s skilled hands… and tongue… and well, helping his best friend get rid of that pesky virginity seemed more like a reward than a chore. Yet lately, whenever Naruto got adventurous, Sasuke got nervous. Truthfully, he was even a little glad that people refused to leave them alone for long. Maybe for Naruto’s birthday, they could work something out...

Lost in thought, Sasuke didn’t notice the moment his friend slipped off into dreamland. He was pulled back to reality when something warm and wet landed on his shoulder. Gross, the idiot was drooling on him.

“Naruto, wake up!” He shrugged his shoulder aggressively.

“Oroch…” The blonde sighed. Then, “It hurts…”

Sasuke stilled, eyes widening. He leaned back, trying to get a better look at his friends’ face. “What?”

“Mm,” the blonde moaned.

“Seriously, Naruto, wake up. What the hell.” He grabbed the blonde’s shoulders and forced him into a sitting position. He was not at all prepared to see Naruto’s face wet with blood. “What the fuck!”

Jerked awake, Naruto grumbled and swiped a clumsy hand under his running nose. “What the hell, bastard, stop yelling…”

“You’re bleeding!” Sasuke said, a bit hysterically.

“Huh?” Naruto asked eloquently, then looked at his hand that had come away smeared with blood. “Oh…” He looked up in time to see three different expressions cross Sasuke’s face rapidly. He would have been amused, had the final expression not settled on _worried_.

“It’s just a nosebleed, stop freaking out!”

“Why are you bleeding?” Sasuke demanded, jumping off his bed to grab the box of tissues from his desk.

“I don’t know, I had one this morning, too. It happens sometimes,” he shrugged. He accepted the handful of tissues Sasuke thrusted towards him and pressed it to his nose. He tried to ignore the fact that he never got random nosebleeds before today.

“Don’t tilt your head back,” Sasuke instructed, sitting down again. He seemed only moderately calmer than before. “Jeez,”

Naruto observed him, hiding a smile beneath the tissues. “Heh, you’re worried about me.”

“Just don’t start bleeding out of nowhere like that, moron,” Sasuke huffed, turning away. “It’s not normal.”

“You’re worried,” Naruto sung, “You looooove me,”

“Shut up, idiot!”

Naruto leaned back against the wall, still laughing and occasionally pulling the bloody-soaked tissues from his nose to see if it had stopped or not. Sasuke shifted uncomfortably, his face heated. He realized too late that he did not exactly deny Naruto’s accusation. His idiot friend had a talent for getting under his skin.

“What were you dreaming about, anyway?” Sasuke muttered, fiddling with the tissue box. He remembered Naruto’s breathy voice against his neck-- _‘it hurts’_ —and suppressed a shudder. 

“Ah…Can I have some more tissues?” Naruto’s voice was muffled. He gratefully pulled a few more from the box when Sasuke offered it. He didn’t exactly want to answer, knowing Sasuke, much like his parents, tended to overreact about certain things. He learned to avoid the topic of his kidnapping like the plague. Not because he wasn’t over it, but because it seemed like the people closest to him couldn’t let go. He hated the look that they gave him when he slipped up, filled with pity and sadness.

 “Well?” the dark-haired boy pushed impatiently.

“It’s not a big deal or anything. Just dumb dreams,” the blonde shrugged casually.

“If it’s really not a big deal, then you should have no problem telling me all about it.” Sasuke countered. Naruto was usually an open-book. Except when it came to things that mattered. That’s when getting information from him became as painful as pulling teeth.

“Hmm…” Naruto hummed. “I think the bleeding’s stopped.” He dabbed experimentally at his nose, satisfied when no new blood appeared on the soiled tissues.

Getting annoyed, Sasuke growled. “Naruto.”

“Jeez, it really _isn’t_ a big deal!” The blonde growled back, growing annoyed himself. “It was just a dream, y’know, about that stupid pond.”

As expected, Sasuke’s expression fell quickly.

“Don’t look at me like that!” the blonde huffed, throwing the balled-up tissues in his hand at his friend. Sasuke batted it away.

“Gross, moron! What’s wrong with you?” He gingerly picked it up with his thumb and forefinger, carrying it like it might bite him to the garbage bin next to his desk. He chose to sit on the chair there rather than return to the bed. Naruto looked away petulantly. The guy really did look tired.

“I thought you said those dreams stopped…” Sasuke broached hesitatingly. He knew Naruto absolutely hated talking about anything even close to related to what happened to him as a child. He didn’t want to trigger him, but Sasuke knew letting Naruto bottle things up would only make it worse in the end.

“They did.” Naruto said simply.

“Then…”

“God, Sasuke. Shut up. This is why I didn’t want to say anything. You always overreact!” Naruto snapped.

“Well? Did you remember anything?” Sasuke pressed on.

“No! I told you everything I remember!” He could tell by the flush spreading across Naruto’s face that the other was getting seriously annoyed. Still, he couldn’t let it go. Despite Naruto’s teasing before, Sasuke _was_ worried. It was hard not to be, with a friend who got himself in trouble like he was paid to do it.

“You…You said, it hurts…” Sasuke mumbled.

“Huh?” Naruto looked up, derailed. “What, when?”

“Just then! When you were sleeping!” Honestly, this guy….

“I did?” Naruto asked, a little bewildered. He didn’t remember dreaming about anything _painful_.

Underneath the frustration, Sasuke looked small and concerned. Naruto couldn’t find it in himself to stay mad. He sighed loudly. “I promise it was just a dream. I don’t even remember it properly. Let’s just forget about it, okay?”

“Fine.” Judging from his tone, Sasuke wasn’t quite over it yet. The blonde rolled his eyes.

“C’mere…” Naruto beckoned. “Gimme a kiss!”

“Ew, no, go wash your face. You’ve still got blood all over it.”

 “Kiss it off!” Naruto said dramatically.

“Why are you so weird?” Sasuke crossed his arms and looked unimpressed. Regardless, the mood had been expertly lifted. It seemed Naruto had a natural talent of affecting the atmosphere however he pleased. Dark and heavy one minute, silly and light the next.

* * *

 

 

                **N** aruto gratefully collapsed on his bed. It wasn’t even passed nine but he was more than ready to sleep. At least he had gotten his homework done with Sasuke, thanks to the dark-haired boys aversion to their usual pass-time—making out.

For the first time that day, Naruto truly allowed himself to think about the dreams. He used to have frequent night terrors as a child. Thankfully, they became more gradual as he got older and stopped completely about a year or two before. He thought that was the end of it, that he was finally finished with all that messy business. He wasn’t seeing his therapist anymore, and was successfully taken off every pill he had been dosed with. Finally _, finally_ , he could put it behind him. Well, that’s what he thought anyway.

_‘No,’_ he thought stubbornly _. ‘I’m not going to deal with this shit again._ ’ He rolled onto his stomach and clenched his eyes shut. _‘I’m going to sleep, and wake up properly in my bed tomorrow.’_

* * *

 

**K** ushina yawned widely behind her hand. After seeing her exhausted son off to bed, she realized just how tired she was herself. It _had_ been a long day. She hadn’t been able to stop worrying about Naruto since the shock of seeing his beautiful face covered with blood that morning. Not to mention his overall appearance; tired red eyes, pale face, dishevelled hair. It honestly looked as though he could be getting ill, but Kushina couldn’t even remember that last time Naruto got sick.

He had been acting a bit odd for a while now, if she thought about it. Minato didn’t say so, but it was implied that he thought Kushina was just being paranoid as usual. _‘Besides’_ , he had said with a laugh, _‘any boy would be a bit distant to his parents if they had walked in on him having sex!’_

Kushina could _, grudgingly_ , admit that she may be a bit overbearing at times. She had a hard time letting go, something that everybody—especially Naruto—told her often. She wasn’t ready for her baby boy to grow up yet, and she definitely wasn’t ready to think that her child might be a sexual person. Ugh, no, definitely not!

_‘He’s only 15!’_ Kushina mentally ranted. _‘He’s not ready for that yet!’_

Kushina didn’t think she was being unreasonable about that, anyway. Even Mikoto had agreed with her there.

But his embarrassment wasn’t the odd behaviour that Kushina had noted. Naruto just seemed a bit detached from reality, at times. She caught him often staring blankly at nothing, not reacting to his name being called or his phone vibrating. Kushina sighed, rubbing her temple. Maybe she _was_ being paranoid.

She made her way up the stairs, flicking switches off as she went. She was sure to leave the hallway light on as she passed. Naruto liked to leave his bedroom door open a crack to let the light in, even though he also had a nightlight plugged in beside his bed. Both Kushina and Minato didn’t dare try to discourage him from that behaviour, considering what their poor son had been through. If a fear of the dark was the most lasting effect of his traumatic experience, then they would take it.

She paused at his doorway, feeling a bit wistful, and cautioned a peak inside. She pushed the white door open a bit more, peering around into Naruto’s dimly lit room.

She jumped visibly when she saw him sitting up in bed, staring at her blankly.

“Oh!” She gasped, then chuckled at herself, clutching her chest. “I was just checking if you were asleep…”

Naruto didn’t respond, didn't return her smile,  didn’t move a muscle. He continued to stare into her eyes, unblinkingly.

“Well, goodnight…” she said, sheepish for having been caught peeping.

She pulled the door halfway closed as she left, frowning as unease settled into her stomach.

_‘I wish Minato was home,_ ’ she shivered and made her way to their shared bedroom. It always seemed large and empty when her husband went away for business. She could especially use his comforting presence tonight. Somehow, things always seemed better with him around. Crawling under the covers, Kushina tried to forget the strange look in her son’s eyes as he stared her down.

Call it paranoia or motherly instinct, but she could sense something wasn’t right with her little boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeee, spooky! Please let me know what you think! I'll try to update again soon. This semester is almost over, so hopefully I'll have more time to work on this story.   
> Now, back to assignments *siiiigh*


End file.
